I want to share a tip that personally helped me increase my efficiency in studying and working.
The problem is that if you need to work and study efficiently, a focused, undisturbed environment is essential. But once you have that, the next problem is the random thoughts that arise when you sit in front of a computer or books.
Many of us use music to solve this. I tried listening to my favorite tracks, but I found that once I fell into deeper concentration, it was very brief. The reason is that my mind started drifting into memories or focused on certain refrains or riffs that I liked, and the lyrics were distracting too.
So, listening to favorite songs doesn’t help much.
I wondered what would happen if I tried some instrumentals and longer songs or pieces of music. So I tried listening to movie soundtracks. It was a minor improvement, but I realized I was making the same mistake—choosing music I actually enjoyed.
I almost gave up looking for a sound that would quiet my daily thoughts so I could focus on what was in front of me.
And then I found it, by accident.
A sound that works like a charm.
BROWN NOISE
It’s a low-frequency sound that results in calming your thoughts. My experience is that brown noise helps blend with your daily thoughts, making them disappear, so to speak.
Brown noise is a deeper, bass-heavy sound compared to white or pink noise, similar to a waterfall or heavy rainfall.
In the beginning, it felt weird to listen to a monotonous, static-like sound that reminded me more of a fan. But very quickly, my mind started to relax and allowed me to concentrate on the task.
The audio I use is called “Deep Layered Brown Noise,” and you can find it on YouTube. I highly recommend listening to the noise with headphones.
Some people prefer pink noise or white noise. Brown noise is softer than those two, so I guess one must test various versions.
If you’re struggling with concentration, give brown noise a try.